New research shared exclusively with HSJ found that 30 per cent of MPs did not understand what an “integrated care system” is and 34 per cent what “accountable care systems” were.

Nearly a quarter of Parliamentarians quizzed said they did not feel “sufficiently well informed” to scrutinise healthcare in Parliament, with just over half saying they did.

More than three quarters of MPs surveyed agreed NHS organisations should “simplify their language and explain concepts more clearly to Parliamentarians”.

It is clear that many MPs find the acronym-heavy vernacular of the NHS a hard slog, a view shared by many of the public as well.

As one of the largest organisations in the world, providing very complex care, it is natural the NHS would evolve its own technical language.

But with the NHS going through a major reconfiguration of how it provides services, it is vital that the public and patients understand what it is doing. Otherwise the risk is it will alienate the public.